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Sdsfa^ SS ( HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES /Document 

t No. 979 



ROBERT C. WICKLIFFE 

(Late a Representative from Louisiana) 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

DELIVERED 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF 

THE UNITED STATES 

SIXTY-SECOND CONGRESS 



Proceedings in the House 
February 23, 1913 



Proceedings in the Senate 
June 11, 1912 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 




WASHINGTON 
1913 






Copy 2, 




n. OF D, 

; • 



A 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Proceeding n the House 5 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D 7 

Resolutions adopted 11 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Morgan, of Louisiana 16 

Mr. Clark, of Missouri 18 

Mr. Rodenberg, of Illinois 21 

Mr. Blackmon, of Alabama 23 

Mr. Murdock, of Kansas 29 

Mr. Cantrill, of Kentucky 32 

Mr. Harrison, of Mississippi 36 

Mr. Cullop, of Indiana 40 

Mr. Collier, of Mississippi 45 

Mr. Pujo, of Louisiana 47 

Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 51 

Mr. Watkins, of Louisiana 55 

Mr. Estopinal, of Louisiana 58 

Mr. Dupre, of Louisiana 63 

Mr. Broussard, of Louisiana " 67 

Proceedings in the Senate 67 

Prayer by Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce, D. D , 68 



[3] 




HON-HOBERT C.WICKLIFFE 



) 



DEATH OF HON. ROBERT C. WICKLIFFE 



Proceedings in the House 

Tuesday, June 11, 1912. 

Mr. Estopinal. Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty to an- 
nounce the tragic death of my colleague, Hon. Robert C. 
Wickliffe. At some future time I shall ask the House 
to fix a day to pay tribute to his memory. I wish to send 
up the following resolutions. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the resolutions. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

House resolution 579 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe, a Representative from the 
State of Louisiana. 

Resolved, That a committee of 15 Members of the House, with 
such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to 
attend the funeral. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized 
and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying 
out the provisions of these resolutions, and that the necessary ex- 
pense in connection therewith be paid out of the contingent fund 
of the House. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

The question was taken, and the resolutions were 
unanimously agreed to. 

The Speaker. The Chair announces the following com- 
mittee. 



[5] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Mr. Pujo, Mr. Estopinal, Mr. Ransdell of Louisiana, Mr. Brous- 
sard, Mr. Dupre, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Cullop, Mr. Roden- 
berg, Mr. Austin, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Thistlewood, Mr. Campbell, Mr. 
McLaughlin, and Mr. Simmons. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the additional reso- 
lution. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect this House do now 
adjourn. 

The resolution was agreed to; accordingly (at 11 
o'clock and 50 minutes a. m.) the House adjourned to 
meet to-morrow, Wednesday, June 12, 1912, at 11 o'clock 
a. m. 



Saturday, January 11, 1913. 

Mr. Morgan of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent for the present consideration of the resolution 
which I send to the Clerk's desk. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the resolution. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

On motion of Mr. Morgan of Louisiana, by unanimous consent, 
it is ordered that Sunday, the 23d day of February, 1913, at 12 
o'clock m., be set apart for addresses on the life, character, and 
public services of Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe, late a Representa- 
tive from the State of Louisiana. 

The Speaker. Is there objection to the present consid- 
eration of the resolution? 
There was no objection. 
The resolution was agreed to. 



[6] 



Proceedings in the House 



Sunday, February 23, 1913. 
The House met at 12 o'clock noon. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
following prayer: 

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the 
end of the earth will I cry unto Thee when my heart is 
overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 
For Thou hast been a shelter for me and a strong tower 
from the enemy. I will abide in Thy tabernacle forever; 
I will trust in the covert of Thy wings. 

From time immemorial, O God our Father, men's hearts 
have turned instinctively to Thee in great crises for help, 
in sorrow and grief for comfort, in every contingency for 
inspiration and guidance; so our hearts turn to Thee as 
we assemble in memory of men who by faithful service in 
State and Nation gained for themselves the respect and 
confidence of the people, wrought well among us, left the 
impress of their personality upon our minds, and made a 
place for themselves in our hearts which time nor space 
can erase. " For we know that if our earthly house of 
this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God, 
an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 

"We leave this and straightway enter another palace 
of the King more grand and beautiful." 

We mourn their going, but not without hope. We are 
cast down but not overwhelmed, dismayed but not con- 
founded. 

For the love of God is broader 
Than the measures of man's mind, 

And the heart of the Eternal 
Is most wonderfully kind. 

Enter Thou, God our Father, into the desolate homes 
and bind up the bruised and broken hearts with the oil of 



[7] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

Thy love, that they may look through their tears to the 
rainbow of hope and follow on without fear and doubting 
into that realm where all mysteries shall be solved, all 
sorrows melted into joy, soul touch soul in an everlasting 
communion, and eons of praise we will ever give to Thee, 
in the spirit of the Lord Christ. Amen. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will read the Journal of the 
proceedings of yesterday. 

Mr. Morgan of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that the reading of the Journal be dispensed with. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Louisiana asks 
unanimous consent to dispense with the reading of the 
Journal. Is there objection? [After a pause.] The Chair 
hears none. Without objection, the Journal will stand 
approved. 

There was no objection. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the special order. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

On motion of Mr. Morgan of Louisiana, by unanimous consent, 
Ordered, That Sunday, February 23, 1913, at 12 o'clock m., be 
set apart for addresses upon the life, character, and public serv- 
ices of Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe, late a Representative from the 
State of Louisiana. 

Mr. Morgan of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I offer the fol- 
lowing resolution. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the resolution. 
The Clerk read as follows: 

House resolution 861. 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, 
that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. 
Robert C. Wickliffe, late a Member of the House from the State 
of Louisiana. 



[8] 



Proceedings in the House 



Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory 
of the deceased and in recognition of his distinguished public 
career the House at the conclusion of the memorial exercises of 
the day shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to 
the family of the deceased. 

The resolution was unanimously agreed to. 



[9] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Morgan of Louisiana 

Mr. Speaker : We are here convened to pay honor to the 
memory and to delineate the life, character, and public 
service of one of Louisiana's most promising and polished 
sons, the late Robert C. Wickliffe, who, on the 11th day 
of June, 1912, was cut off in the flower of his youth and in 
the height of a career of usefulness to the people. 

In the usual course of human events the sadness of 
death is softened in the preparation of its inevitable com- 
ing, but when, without premonition or warning, it takes 
from our midst the loved and honored and lays at our feet 
the cold and inanimate clay in exchange for the pulsate 
life of a warm and joyous heart, the blow falls heavily, 
and the will of God seems a wondrous way that is hard 
for us to understand. Yet I know of no one better pre- 
pared to face the judgment of God without preparation. 

Robert C. Wickliffe was born on May 1, 1874, at Bards- 
town, Ky., while his parents were visiting relatives in that 
State; hence Kentucky commingles her pride and her sor- 
row with that of Louisiana in the life and death of her 
illustrious son. They both suffered a common loss. 

He received his primary education in the public schools 
of West Feliciana Parish, La., thereafter entering Center 
College, Danville, Ky., from which institution he gradu- 
ated in 1895 with the degree of B. S. Immediately after, 
he matriculated as a student in the law department of the 
Tulane University, at New Orleans, La., completing his 



[11] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

course in 1897, after which he returned to West Feliciana 
Parish and actively entered into the practice of his 
chosen profession. 

His people, at once recognizing and appreciating his 
transcendent ability, elected him to represent that parish 
in the constitutional convention of 1898, and after the ad- 
journment of that august body he enlisted in Company E, 
First Louisiana Volunteer Infantry, and served through- 
out the Spanish-American War, and was mustered out 
with his regiment in October the same year. He returned 
again to West Feliciana Parish to resume the practice of 
law, and in 1900 was elected district attorney of the 
twenty-fourth judicial district of Louisiana, serving his 
people in that capacity with distinction up to 1904. 

In 1908 he became a candidate for the nomination for 
Congress from the sixth congressional district, and, hav- 
ing received the nomination in the second primary, was 
elected to the Sixty-first and reelected to the Sixty-second 
Congress without opposition. 

Mr. Wickliffe was of noble and distinguished extrac- 
tion. His grandfather, Charles A. Wickliffe, served sev- 
eral terms in Congress, was governor of Kentucky, and 
subsequently Postmaster General in the Cabinet of Presi- 
dent Tyler. His father, R. C. Wickliffe, was governor of 
Louisiana. 

Now, while it is perfectly clear that a great name was 
handed down to " Bob " Wickliffe, yet it is equally ob- 
vious that he united distinction to the honors his ancestry 
had already gained. 

In looking over the life of Mr. Wickliffe the soil of my 
nativity becomes dearer to me for having nurtured such a 
man, not that his accomplishments have drawn him into 
the spotlight of public recognition, not that his genius 
overshadowed the efforts of his fellow men, but that he 
crowned manhood with the dignity of honor and the 

[12] 






Address of Mr. Morgan, of Louisiana 

spirit of loyalty, linked the refinement of the southern 
gentleman to the rugged worth of the son of toil, and by 
no act of his lessened the respect due to his life of useful- 
ness. The result of his work in the estimation of his char- 
acter is an insignificant reflection of the nobleness of his 
mind and the possibilities of his future. 

Those who have had the honor of his confidence and 
friendship, who have communed with him when the cur- 
tain was drawn and the ambitions of his life were made 
bare, will pay tribute to the nobility of his nature, the 
unselfishness of his disposition, and the simplicity and 
purity of his character. 

The future that promised so much for him was blotted 
out by the hand of destiny, but he has left behind him the 
inspiration that guided his footsteps toward the citadel 
of fame, and the influence of his life will be a stepping- 
stone to the accomplishments of others. 

To know Mr. Wickliffe was to love him; to meet him 
was to become his friend. The ineffable kindness of his 
smile and the courtesy of his manner one could never for- 
get. He was honest because it was part of his nature, born 
of the principles that were the foundation of his success. 

He was congenial, because in the unselfishness of his 
disposition he found pleasure in self-sacrifice for the hap- 
piness of others. Therefore he had woven into the texture 
of his life the power to incline people to do that which he 
desired done. There was no necessity to sift his motives, 
no suspicion of hidden incentive, no sacrifice as an ex- 
change for concessions or the price of pacific toleration. 
Either in the initiative or when he gave his support to 
others, his motive was the uplift of his fellow men. 

Absorbed as he was in the problems of public impor- 
tance, the domestic side of his life was full of the pleas- 
ures that come of a happy union. He was devoted to 
his wife and child, and his happiest moments were spent 

[13] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

with them. Married to a lady in a high degree his help- 
mate, molded into the life that is given to prominence by 
intellect and charm of personality, with the instinctive 
qualities that give social success and enjoyment to social 
occasions, she drew to his home at those functions men 
and women whose influence and high standing made it 
an honor to know and whose friendship and assistance 
meant much in the accomplishment of matters of public 
moment. 

Mr. Wickliffe was a young man, forcing recognition of 
his ability and worth at an age when most men are look- 
ing to the future for a foothold on the path that leads 
from obscurity. He was ambitious to become useful to 
his country and had consecrated his life to the public use 
of his fellow men, always cooperating with them in the 
propagation of right and justice. His peculiar fitness 
for the life he had chosen was evidenced by those traits 
that make leaders of men. He was of a temperament 
that brought to him the support of others by magnetic 
attraction. His individuality was mai'ked, but not ob- 
trusive or antagonistic, because the firmness of his char- 
acter was so merged and blended in his fine social quali- 
ties, his optimism was so cheering and alluring, that he 
often won battles without leaving any wounded on the 
field or humiliation abiding in the heart. 

That his work was quick in gaining recognition in his 
district and State will be appreciated by those who under- 
stand the difficulties of conflicting commercial interests 
and the impulses and ancestral influences arising from 
French and Spanish heredity. To stand firm in the con- 
victions of founded principles and yet unite the strength 
of opposing forces is an accomplishment significant of a 
high degree of ability and character that must command 
both respect and admiration. 



:i4] 



Address of Mr. Morgan, of Louisiana 

The rapidity with which Mr. Wickliffe gained public 
favor and the ability with which he conducted the affairs 
intrusted to him by the people won him honor and dis- 
tinction. He became a uniter of factions and a strength- 
ener of the principles of democracy, and I venture the 
assertion that if the life of this splendid man had been 
spared his great worth and influence would have been 
felt throughout the length and breadth of this great 
Nation. 



[151 



Address of Mr. Clark of Missouri 

Mr. Speaker: By his brief and highly honorable career, 
in peace and in war, Robert C. Wickliffe added renown 
to a name famous in the annals of Kentucky and the 
Southwest from the beginning of Caucasian supremacy in 
that rich and prosperous section of our country. 

One of my first recollections of politics was the election 
of his grandfather, Charles A. Wickliffe, to Congress in 
the spring of 1861. Before that he had served repeatedly 
in the Kentucky Legislature and had been speaker of the 
more numerous branch thereof. He had also served sev- 
eral terms in Congress from time to time, had been gov- 
ernor of Kentucky, a member of the Cabinet, was sent on 
an important secret mission to the Republic of Texas, was 
an officer in Harrison's army in the War of 1812, was a 
delegate to the Democratic national convention at Chi- 
cago in 1864, and was a great lawyer. His son, the father 
of Robert C. Wickliffe, was a Confederate soldier and 
governor of Louisiana, and his grandson, J. C. W. Beck- 
ham, was for almost eight years governor of Kentucky. 
So our friend, Robert C. Wickliffe, took naturally to poli- 
tics and the law. It was in the blood. 

He and I were born in adjoining counties in Kentucky, 
I near Lawrenceburg, county seat of Anderson County, 
and he at Bardstown, county seat of Nelson. Conse- 
quently, when he came to Congress, I searched him out 
and gave him suggestions, helpful in getting a start; sug- 
gestions about things which, left to his own resources, a 
new Member can learn only in the hard school of experi- 
ence. The pleasant friendship thus formed continued, 
growing closer and stronger as the years rolled by, till the 

[16] 



Address of Mr. Clark, of Missouri 



day of his death. No one outside of his immediate family 
mourned his untimely departure more than I did. He 
was cut down in the prime of his splendid powers — al- 
most at the beginning of what promised to be a long and 
distinguished career. Young, handsome, modest, honest, 
honorable, capable, courteous, courageous, and faithful, 
he was a prime favorite in the House, which is a fine 
judge of men, and his tragic end created a profound sen- 
sation and widespread grief, such as the membership 
rarely experiences. 

I have said that he was born at Bardstown, Ky., the 
ancient habitat of his family. That is a small town, but 
is rich in history, legend, and tradition. It is one of the 
oldest towns in Kentucky. It was the seat of the first 
Catholic see beyond the Alleghenies. It has long been 
famous for its schools. The pioneers who laid its founda- 
tions were a remarkable set of men and women, as fine 
representatives of our race as can be found betwixt the 
two oceans. The Wickliffes, the Hardins, the Johnsons, 
the Rowans, the Hardings, and others like unto them 
served and adorned the Republic in every walk of life 
and in every department of government. Cities, counties, 
and towns have been named for them. Their fame is 
part of the treasures of the Republic. In life Robert C. 
Wickliffe illustrated their high qualities, and in the 
grave he is worthy of their noble companionship. 



:iv] 



Address of Mr. Rodenberg, of Illinois 

Mr. Speaker: During a service of 12 years in the Con- 
gress of the United States I have met representatives of 
every type of our complex American citizenship. I am 
entirely sincere when I make the statement that in all 
those years I have never met a finer or truer type of genu- 
ine American manhood than is to be found among the 
men who have represented the State of Louisiana in this 
Chamber. I believe that Louisiana more than any other 
State in the land of sunshine and of flowers has preserved 
in all its strength and purity the best traditions of the 
chivalric spirit of former days, and those who knew him 
well will bear testimony to the fact that Robert C. Wick- 
liffe embodied in his attractive personality the finest 
quality of that spirit. He was the very personation of true 
manliness. A "gentleman to the manner born," kind, 
considerate, and courteous, he was incapable of deception 
in thought, word, or deed. 

I first met him several years ago at the funeral of the 
late Robert C. Davey, and instinctively I fell under the 
charm of a personality that was as natural as it was mag- 
netic. That acquaintance ripened into a sincere friend- 
ship that will always be treasured by me as one of the 
most pleasant memories of my congressional life. 

Rob Wickliffe was a man of courage, character, and 
capacity. Endowed with an intellect of scintillating bril- 
liancy, broad in culture, and liberal in his views, no man 
ever entered this Chamber better equipped to discharge 
the duties of a Representative. His knowledge of political 
history was as thorough and comprehensive as that of any 



[18] 



Address of Mr. Rodenberg, of Illinois 

man I have ever met. I have talked with him for hours 
on matters of historic interest, and his keen analysis of 
men and measures, his complete knowledge of the causes 
leading up to every important event in our Nation's his- 
tory, and his intelligent and philosophical deductions as 
to their effect were as entertaining as they were instruc- 
tive. In all of these delightful talks there was ever 
present that broad spirit of charity and tolerance which 
is the true index of culture and refinement. 

Robert C. Wickliffe had confidence in his fellow man. 
Relieving implicitly in his country and her ultimate des- 
tiny, he faced the future without any misgivings. He did 
not affect to believe that all that is good and pure and 
true and noble and inspiring in our national life died 
when the founders of the Republic passed away. He had 
an abiding faith in the triumph of any great question of 
truth or justice submitted to the will of a free and an en- 
lightened people. He never impugned the motives of 
those who disagreed with him. Honest and honorable 
himself, he conceded to others the same integrity of pur- 
pose that animated his own personal and official acts. He 
was a man of the highest ideals. Fidelity to principle and 
loyalty to honest conviction were the cardinal tenets of 
his political creed. At all times and under all circum- 
stances he possessed the courage that is born of con- 
science and that has its origin in the loftiest conception of 
public duty. Quick to approve and slow to condemn, 
generous to friend and foe alike, always sympathetic and 
responsive, anxious to help rather than to hinder, it is 
no wonder that when the news of his tragic taking off 
reached this Chamber every Member felt that he had sus- 
tained a personal loss. 

Mr. Speaker, death is always sadly impressive. " The 
tear, the groan, the knell, the pall, the bier, and all we 
know or dream or fear of agony " are his. Rut to die 

[19] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

young, to die in the very prime of physical and intellec- 
tual manhood, to die while the shadows still lengthen 
toward the west and years of usefulness stretch out be- 
fore one is doubly pathetic. 

Robert C. Wickliffe's brief race is run. For him the 
mystery of life and death has been solved. He sleeps 
the sleep of eternity. Slowly and sadly we consign his 
mortal remains to the cheerless grave, and as the sods, 
moistened by our tears, close in above them we call and 
listen. From the voiceless tomb there comes no answer. 
Only an echo which seems to mock our sorrow is wafted 
back. The somber shadows thicken. All is dark. We 
are overwhelmed in doubt. But suddenly the mystic veil 
that separates the present from the hereafter is swept 
aside. A light breaks forth. It is the light of the spirit 
of immortality, triumphant still, shedding joy and peace 
and hope eternal. There, there amid the splendors of the 
eternal dawn, we behold our colleague crowned with 
the wreath of immortal glory that awaits him who in all 
of the vicissitudes of life has been true to himself, true 
to his country, and true to his God. 



[20] 



Address of Mr. Blackmon, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker: I was elected to the Sixty-second Con- 
gress, and when I came to Washington, March 3, 1911, 
one of the first acquaintances I formed was the late Hon. 
Robert C. Wickliffe, of Louisiana. I saw little of him 
during the few days I was in Washington at that time, 
but when I returned to the extraordinary session, which 
was called April 4, 1911, Mr. Wickliffe was one among 
the first Members of this body to offer friendly suggestions 
to me concerning my various duties as a Member. His 
suggestions and advice were of value to me; he seemed 
to take a special interest in me, and before I had served 
long with him in the extraordinary session I learned to 
love him. I found but few men who seemed to take the 
same interest in what we term "new Members" as did 
Mr. Wickliffe. 

He had served but one term before I came here, but had 
mastered the rules of this House as few men have. His 
judgment on all questions was of great value. 

I lived in the same hotel with him, and last year when 
I left the hotel and secured an apartment he secured an 
apartment in the same apartment house. 

I saw him each day after I came here, because he was 
at all times attentive to his duties as a Member of this 
House. In the House he was affable and courteous, and 
in his home he displayed those lovable traits that were 
characteristic of him and which drew men to him in 
strong bonds of friendship. 

On the morning that he met his tragic death I saw him 
in the lobby of the Burlington Apartment House, where 



121] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

we both lived. He had his beautiful little child in his 
arms, and when I stopped to speak to him he seemed to 
be in his usual happy and contented frame of mind. I 
can not express the shock I experienced upon learning 
within an hour afterwards that my friend was dead. 

In the death of Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe Louisiana, 
and, indeed, the whole Nation, sustained a loss. Few 
men, in my judgment, are better equipped to render pub- 
lic service than was the late Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe. 

Mr. Wickliffe loved his country, his State, and his 
fellow man. He was a gentleman to the manor born. I 
join to-day with the people of Louisiana and the Nation 
in mourning the loss of a truly great man. 



[22] 



Address of Mr. Murdoch, of Kansas 

Mr. Speaker: As individuals we, in this body, are in- 
finitely multiple and various. However single we may be 
in ideal, impulse, and purpose, the first view each of us 
brings to every common problem in Congress is markedly 
individual. Environment must have much to do with 
that. And our environment is endless in variety. There 
is not much in common in the vision of physical things 
between the denizen of the crag-crowned heights of Mon- 
tana and the dweller on the green and floor-flat prairies 
of Dakota. The men of the grim woods of Wisconsin can 
not have the same survey of affairs as do their brothers 
lolling along the Texas Gulf shore listening to the lazy 
swell lap on the slanting yellow beach. It is a far cry 
from the cold coast of Maine, booming this hour through 
the gray solitude of a winter day, and the drowsy pre- 
cinct where the velvet winds from the Pacific stir among 
the nodding roses in the garden down San Diego way. 

The House of Representatives, in the difference of view- 
point in the men who constitute it, is the Nation in minia- 
ture. Every man who comes here is, in a way, conscious 
that his view of things differs from that of his fellows. It 
may be a view that is sectional, or is peculiar to his State, 
or to a certain section of his Stale, for the multiplication 
of American types continues within State lines. 

Now, it is this circumstance which gives to the Congress 
much of its color and service here much of its charm. 

And while Congress often appears laggard, and is, ulti- 
mately Congress does write into law the prevalent sense 
of right; does produce, under the spur of popular im- 
patience, by some latter-day alchemy, and through col- 
[23] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 



lision and contest and compromise and final union of con- 
trary elements and interests, that marvelous mutuality of 
thought and deed which we all feel lies back of the Na- 
tion's vitality and must continue to be the mainspring of 
our nationality. 

To me, then, the first appearance of a Member of the 
House is always a matter of interest. He is most interest- 
ing, however, when he brings frankly his view and his 
section's view to bear upon debate. We all grow to know 
the House, its childlike emotions, its splendid generosity, 
its equally severe condemnation, and, in time, to feel a 
profound respect for its sense of accurate discrimination. 
Eventually the membership here fashions every Member, 
but if he possess the virtue of industry, every Member, 
reciprocally, fashions the House. The process continues 
interminably — begins anew, in fact, every time a new 
Member makes his first appearance in vigorous debate. 

Early in my service in the House I noticed that certain 
of the older Members, notably Col. Hepburn, of Iowa, and 
Mr. John Dalzell, of Pennsylvania, whenever a new Mem- 
ber took noticeable part in debate, consulted the Bio- 
graphical Directory. It is an excellent practice, and, fol- 
lowing it, on one occasion, when the late Robert Wick- 
liffe, of Louisiana, addressed the Speaker, I discovered 
that he was of the Wickliffe family of Kentucky; that his 
birthplace and that of his father and his grandfather was 
Bardstown, the second oldest town in the State, the home 
of our colleague, Mr. Ben Johnson. 

My interest in young Mr. Wickliffe was heightened 
through the circumstance that a short time before I had 
read in an ancient and forgotten Government document 
the story of how Postmaster General Wickliffe, under 
Tyler, had placed before Congress the then existing rail- 
roads' proposition that if the Government would assume 



[24] 



Address of Mr. Murdock, of Kansas 



the total railroad indebtedness, then $5,000,000, the rail- 
roads would agree to carry the mails free for all time to 
come, a proposition which Congress, with singular con- 
ceit, unfortunately rejected. 

I made young Mr. Wickliffe's acquaintance and found 
that the former Postmaster General was his grandfather; 
that the family was political; and that his father had been 
governor of Louisiana just before the Civil War. As our 
acquaintance broadened into friendship I came to know 
young Mr. Wickliffe as a splendid example of a type 
that is characteristically American and finds particular 
exemplification in some of the Southern States. The 
Wickliffe family was political; its inclinations and activi- 
ties found naturally that channel. Our young friend 
loved the activity and understood it. 

In every community there are families which produce 
merchants from generation to generation, others which 
contribute members to the professions; and there are also 
in almost all communities certain families that are natu- 
rally political. 

The predilection is potent and persistent. It holds 
through generations. The members of such a family 
know the rules, the language, the customs of the " game," 
the fascinations of politics and its futilities, as well as 
the deep desire for real service, which is more often the 
cause of personal political activity than a cynical age 
allows. The father usually passes the political trait to 
his son. 

I imagine there is no State in the Union west of the 
Alleghenies where this American characteristic may be 
followed more closely than in Kentucky. There are fam- 
ilies there which have flourished politically for over 100 
years, and identification of this activity is possibly easier 
by reason of the fact that Kentucky stood midway be- 



[25] 



Memorial Addresses : Representative Wickliffe 

tween the great tides of westward immigration on the 
north and the south and escaped both to a considerable 
extent. One who glances over a history of the State finds 
certain family names persisting from decade to decade, 
as Nicholas, Todd, Shelby, Logan, McAfee, Magoffin, Cal- 
loway, Henderson, Bristow, Helm, Buckner, Breckinridge, 
Floyd, Harlan, Desha, Clark, McCreary, Crittenden, 
Speed, Brown, Marshall, Pope, Allen, Garrard, Johnson, 
Dudley, Trimble, Davidge, Menefee, Owsley, Guthrie, 
Tilghman, Ballard, Blackburn, McDowell, and Hardin. 

Charles Wickliffe, who served in Congress from 1823 to 
1833, and was Postmaster General from 1841 to 1845, was 
born in Bardstown in 1788. The Wickliffes had been in 
the Indian wars and the Revolution. They were inter- 
married with the Hardins and the Cripps, both of which 
families suffered from Indian warfare. Nearly all the 
Wickliffes were lawyers and worthy the remarkable bar 
of early Kentucky, and, in the nature of things, they had 
voice in public affairs. A Robert Wickliffe served in the 
State legislature in 1819, 1823, and 1825, and thereafter as 
State senator until 1833. Another, Nathaniel Wickliffe, 
was prominent politically, and as a lawyer had such skill 
in the preparation of cases that Ben Hardin, who is still 
quoted in Kentucky, said: 

With Cousin Nat to write the song and Cousin Charles to sing 
it, they could beat the world. 

Another, John Cripps Wickliffe, was a circuit judge 
and soldier of the War of 1812. The activity which this 
generation displayed was repeated in the next. One of 
the sons moved to Louisiana, where he served long in the 
State senate and was four years governor. His son, our 
friend, was born in 1874, while his parents were visiting 
the old Kentucky home in Bardstown. Before Robert 



Address of Mb. Murdock, of Kansas 

Wickliffe was 25 he was representing his parish in a 
constitutional convention. At the outbreak of the Span- 
ish War he responded to the call that was in his blood 
and enlisted as a private. Later, in 1908, before he was 
35, he had been elected to Congress. 

All who had the good fortune to know Robert Wick- 
liffe here knew him as one of surpassing qualities of 
mind and heart and for his generosity and his gentility. 
He had the reserve and, it seemed to me, a survival of the 
old-fashioned dignity and unaffected mental attitude of 
patriotic service which characterized the day of his fore- 
bears, an attitude which made him appear to me at times 
to have stepped out of the past; out of the Kentucky of 
old, the Kentucky of Clay and Barry; the Kentucky where 
the Fourth of July was a solemn celebration, and where 
Washington Irving, using for the first time the expression 
"almighty dollar," was accused of irreverence; the Ken- 
tucky of coaches and four, of ruffled shirts, high stocks, 
and beaver hats. And with this grace and charm which 
was his and which seemed of the past he had a youthful, 
vigorous, eager grasp of current political problems which 
made him delightfully alive to the humanities and nobili- 
ties of his own day, for he had great love for his country. 
He was quick to identify our perils, eager to assist in our 
development nationally. He knew how to be of service, 
with a gift for dispatch of the business in hand, with 
ready decision, freedom from fear; with small patience 
for the technical letter of the problem, but grave rever- 
ence for the principle and spirit of it. And he had vision; 
a belief in the future of the Democracy and the high 
destiny of the Republic; an eagerness to push on to its 
realization. Liberty, he knew, was given us not to main- 
tain but to perfect. It was his desire, his purpose, his 
joy, to help in that. 



[27] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

At the very beginning of his career he was taken away 
from us tragically. He went out into the shadows where 
for each of us a grave is hidden. He was a gentle, lov- 
able, kindly soul, with much of the grace of the past and 
all the eager, vibrant, radiant charm of youth in his mind 
and heart. We have his memory, and we are better for it. 






Address of Mr. Cantrill, of Kentucky 

Mr. Speaker: We meet here to-day to pay just tribute 
to the life of the Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe. Kentucky 
gave him birth May 1, 1874. On June 13, 1912, Kentucky 
folded him into her bosom for the eternal sleep. After 
years of distinguished service to the great State of Louisi- 
ana and to the Nation he rests peacefully through the long 
night near the place of his birth. His beautiful resting 
place is in keeping with his life and character. In behalf 
of many friends and relations in the old Kentucky home I 
join with my colleagues here to do honor to the memory 
of a devoted friend and a noble man. This occasion is 
not one of mere formality or custom; we come here be- 
cause we loved Bob Wickliffe. To know him was to ad- 
mire him. In his private life, gentle, accomplished, cour- 
teous always; in public life, attentive and loyal to the 
interests of his people and his country. I firmly believe 
I speak the truth when I say that no one in this Congress 
was more liked and loved by his associates than Robert 
C. Wickliffe. 

No higher tribute can be said than this. One must have 
the qualities and the virtues of a nobleman to so impress 
himself upon the hearts and minds of his associates in 
this great body. 

The fact that he held high office at the hands of his own 
people showed their love of him and their trust in him. 
Their confidence was well placed, and these tributes to- 
day from those who worked with him here are messages 
to the people of the sixth congressional district of Louisi- 
ana that their faith in him was well founded. Mr. Wick- 
liffe came from an old and distinguished family in 
American history. It can be truthfully said that he added 



[29] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

honor and luster to a distinguished name. He was an 
ornament to his profession. He helped to write the con- 
stitutional law of his great State. When his country was 
in peril he enlisted under the flag of freedom. He served 
with ability and distinction in this body. Had not a de- 
plorable and fatal accident overtaken him a long and a 
brilliant career would have been his lot. Although he 
has gone forever, the sweetness of his character lingers 
with us as the fragrance of a crushed rose. 

In the great strife of modern life it is well that on a 
beautiful day like this, set apart to worship the great 
Creator, we should stop and with bowed head and sor- 
rowful heart pour out our true feelings of admiration and 
love to the memory of one who was in every way worthy 
of the noblest sentiments within us. 

In Kentucky, as well as in Louisiana, this is a sorrow- 
ful day for thousands of friends of Robert Wickliffe, yet 
the heads bowed in sorrow can be raised in proudness as 
the story of his career is told, because his life was clean, 
his character was pure, his achievements were noble. 

Robert Wickliffe had a heart full of sympathy for 
those in distress. How well do I remember his sorrow as 
he told me of the sufferings of his people as their hopes 
were swept away by the great flood. How well do I re- 
call his joy in helping to secure relief for those who suf- 
fered by the rush of mighty waters. Though his heart 
was filled with sorrow for the sufferings of his people, he 
worked valiantly and successfully for their relief. When 
that warm heart ceased to beat the Southland lost one of 
her noblest sons and the Nation one of its truest servants. 

Kentucky to-day joins with Louisiana in a tribute of 
love, affection, and admiration for the life, character, and 
public service of Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe. 

It is a good thing to be rich, it is a good thing to be strong, but 
it is a better thing to be beloved of many friends. 

[30] 



Address of Mr. Cantrill, of Kentucky 

Our departed colleague was rich and strong in the pos- 
session of many friends. This House is quick to perceive 
the faults of men; it is equally as quick to recognize the 
virtues of men. In the three years that Mr. Wickliffe 
served in this body I never heard a single Member utter 
a word concerning him that was not to his credit as a 
man and as a Member. His many virtues were soon seen 
and admired by his colleagues. 

He wrote his name with love, mercy, and kindness on 
the hearts of those about him. His memory will linger 
with us that knew him always. 

It has been said that — 

Friendship is the scarlet thread let down from the windows of 
Heaven to bind human hearts together. 

The single thread of friendship is multiplied many 
times into the strong cord of love and memory as we 
think of him in the great beyond. 

In the brief time at my command to-day I have not en- 
deavored, to dwell in detail upon the distinguished public 
service of our departed colleague. Sufficient for me to 
say his honors were many, and in every instance he 
proved himself entirely worthy. I have tried to speak of 
what I considered his chief characteristic, namely, his 
loyalty to his friends and to his ideals, which were of the 
highest type. He had the courage always to speak his 
convictions, but, coupled with that courage, was a charm 
of manner that bound men to him. 

Remembrance is the sweetest flower of all this world's per- 
fuming. 

The memory of our departed colleague, the Hon. Rob- 
ert C. Wickliffe, impresses upon our hearts the truth 
that— 

A friend is one of life's best blessings. To be a friend is to be 
lifted a little way toward Heaven each day. 

[31] 



Address of Mr. Harrison, of Mississippi. 

Mr. Speaker : Few men have been elected to this House 
who were endowed with greater natural ability, better 
equipped for its arduous duties, and with a brighter future 
for a most successful career than Robert C. Wickliffe. 

Although a young man when he entered this House in 
the Sixty-first Congress, he was no novice in the public 
service. By heredity, environment, and training he was 
naturally fitted for the service of his people. 

At the age of 24 he was chosen by his people to repre- 
sent them in the constitutional convention that formu- 
lated the present organic law of his State. 

At the age of 26 he was elected to serve them as district 
attorney. In both capacities he displayed such signal 
ability, clear judgment, and great resourcefulness that 
it won for him deserved popularity and the Democratic 
nomination and election to Congress in 1908. 

He was of a kindly disposition, fond of sports, and a 
lover of nature. In the reading of the history of great 
men he reveled; in good literature he found pleasure; and 
in the study of economic questions he took especial de- 
light. In the investigation of any subject he was studious, 
painstaking, and thorough. In debate, with his keen, 
analytical mind he was logical and convincing. 

The words that were applied by him in paying de- 
served eulogy to Senator McEnery, of his State, could 
very properly be applied to Bob Wickliffe: 

His honesty was his pride, and the slightest stain upon his repu- 
tation for probity, if believed by his people, would torture him 
like the shirt of Nessus. To criticism by his friends he was duly 
sensitive; but the calumniator and muckraker who sought to im- 



[32 



Address of Mr. Harrison, of Mississippi 

pugn his motives and to destroy his reputation for honesty were 
answered simply by his dignified silence, knowing full well that 
his people always trusted him and believed him honest. 

He courted friendship and prized it very highly; to 
him it was steadfast and enduring. He knew no bounds 
in which to limit his efforts in behalf of his friends. 
While his friends were legion and devoted to him, his lov- 
ing and dutiful wife admired and loved him most, be- 
cause she knew him best. She loved him for his gentle 
character, because she felt his unceasing tenderness; for 
his charity, because she knew of his kind deeds and 
gracious acts; for his intellect, because she knew its 
power. 

He had no enemies, because he was incapable of a 
meanness. He was extremely popular with his col- 
leagues in the House. Although our districts adjoined, 
being separated only by a State line, I never met him 
until I came to Washington, in the Sixty-second Congress, 
but his winning manner and cordial disposition immedi- 
ately attracted me, and we became warm friends. I 
never knew a bigger-hearted or more whole-souled per- 
son. He was an active Member of this body, and espe- 
cially diligent in his committee work. He was of a 
modest, retiring disposition and despised hypocrisy, 
sham, and show. It was not his custom to speak fre- 
quently on the floor of the House, but when he did he was 
full of his subject and commanded the respect and atten- 
tion of his colleagues. 

Understanding the wants of his people and ever alert 
to their interests and welfare, it was always his pleasure 
to carry out their wishes. His efforts in behalf of the 
flood sufferers in 1912, when the great Mississippi River 
carried to that section devastation, wreck, poverty, and 
ruin, will ever stand as a monument to his wonderful 
energy, humanitarian spirit, and resourceful powers. 



[33] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 



For days and nights he kept in the closest touch with the 
situation, and it was through his efforts more than any 
other person that Congress and the War Department 
responded to their needs. 

Mr. Speaker, death is an unwelcomed visitor at any 
time. When one who is hurdened with the weight of 
years and bent by duties performed and opportunities 
accepted is called to the great beyond, a tinge of sorrow 
and sadness is even then felt; yet we accept it philosophi- 
cally as the natural sequence of old age. But when one 
who is young, vigorous, able, ambitious, and fully 
equipped to render great public service and whose future 
is resplendent with every assurance of success is sud- 
denly and tragically snatched from among us, we are 
put to the test of sublime faith and only can murmur 
" Thy will be done." 

It was indeed a pall of gloom that settled down over 
this Capitol when the startling news came that Bob 
Wickliffe had been killed by a train in this city. Our 
grief was unquenchable and our anxiety unbounded. It 
was too sad to be true and too startling to be credible. 
We would not believe it, because we preferred to hold on 
to the slender ray of hope that it might prove to be a 
mistake. We visited the scene, there saw the place, and 
tried to acquaint ourselves with the circumstances that 
surrounded his death; and as we looked upon his once 
well-dressed, handsome, and manly form, but now a life- 
less body, we realized for the first time that our colleague 
and friend was to be with us no more. 

His death to us at first was indeed a mystery. We 
searched for those whom we thought might have seen the 
accident, in the hope that the circumstances surrounding 
it might be more fully known, but our efforts were at first 
unavailing. So interested was I, Mr. Speaker, in ascer- 
taining all of the facts connected with the deplorable 

[341 



Address of Mr. Harrison, of Mississippi 

tragedy that I attended the coroner's inquest and listened 
intently to the testimony of the engineer operating the 
train that killed him. I think that the engineer was the 
only man who knew just how Bob Wickliffe was killed. 
I shall never forget the impression that his testimony 
made upon me — so terrible, yet so sad; so tragic, yet so 
true. 

It was a little after 9 o'clock on the 11th day of June, 1912 — 

He said — 

when my passenger train was pulling out of Washington and was 
only a few hundred feet from the bridge over the Potomac River, 
toward which the train was moving. There was a double track 
across this bridge, and another passenger train was crossing the 
bridge at this time, coming into Washington. I saw the figure 
of a man standing by the track, apparently watching the train 
moving on the opposite track, and as the incoming train on the 
farther track passed by, the deceased, evidently intending to 
cross the railroad, stepped upon the track nearest, and, as he did, 
the train that I was operating struck him. 

Poor fellow, on this beautiful morning, as he left his 
loving wife and babe and strolled through the Potomac 
Park, viewing the beautiful river and communing with 
nature in her most gorgeous attire, he little dreamed that 
his generous heart was beating its funeral march to the 
grave. 

In his untimely death his comrades lost a congenial 
companion, his wife an attentive husband, his little child 
a devoted father, his district and State a splendid Repre- 
sentative, and the Nation one of its most conscientious 
and promising statesmen. 



[35] 



Address of Mr. Cuixop, of Indiana 

Mr. Speaker : That " death loves a shining mark " was 
fully exemplified when the fatal dart with unerring aim 
struck down, without a moment's warning, Robert C. 
Wickliffe and hurled him into eternity. The announce- 
ment of his sudden and tragical death came to the mem- 
bership of this House like a " keen clap of thunder from 
a clear sky," and cast a gloom over the entire body. In 
the prime of life, in the enjoyment of good health, with 
all his faculties unimpaired, with the reasonable assur- 
ance of a long and useful career, his life was ended and 
he was called to his reward. 

By his premature and tragical death we are forcefully 
reminded on what a slender thread life hangs, how un- 
certain its tenure, and what frail mortals we are in the 
hands of an All-Powerful Providence. What shadows 
we pursue as we walk the pathway of life, as we travel 
on to a boundless eternity. By the inscrutable wisdom of 
an All-Wise Providence, the future is impenetrably veiled 
and we do not know to-day what the morrow will bring 
forth. Providence manifests His will in mysterious ways. 
" Thy will be done " invokes patient submission, and we 
recognize the wisdom it proclaims. 

Man is one of the chosen instruments of God for the 
manifestation of His wishes and the greatest agency used 
for bringing about the regeneration of the world and the 
elevation of all its conditions, and yet so mysterious 
sometimes are the means employed that we are unable 
to comprehend the purpose, but faith, the sheet anchor 



[36] 



Address of Mr. Cullop, of Indiana 



of all our hopes, enables us to accept the result with the 
sublime belief that whatever is, is for the best. 

The poet has described in beautiful and apt language 
the manner of the workings of Providence when he said: 

God moves in a mysterious way 

His wonders to perform; 
He plants His footsteps in the sea 

And rides upon the storm. 

Death is no respecter of persons; all alike are amenable 
to the inexorable decree, and when the final summons 
comes all must respond to its command, and rest side by 
side, each alike awaiting the great judgment day. 

Robert C. Wickliffe was one of God's noblemen, a 
prince among men, and a courtly knight among women. 
The 38 years he lived made the world better because of 
the manner in which he lived. He believed in the doc- 
trine expressed by a poet, who said : 

How much joy and comfort we all can bestow, 
If we scatter sunshine everywhere we go. 

And he tried patiently and faithfully to practice that 
beautiful and truthful philosophy in everything he did 
and said. 

The rays of sunshine and good cheer which beamed 
from his radiant face, the soft, soothing speech which fell 
from his lips, the friendly and genial grip of his hand, 
softened the asperites of life and chased away anger, 
sorrow, and pain and installed good cheer and friendship. 

To his heart there was ever an open window that en- 
abled all who saw him to look into his soul and see that 
every pulse beat was ladened with love, kindness, and 
hope from which emanated those splendid qualities he 
displayed in his daily association with his fellow man. 



[37] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

In appearance attractive, in conversation entertaining, 
in disposition retiring, in manner courteous and fascinat- 
ing, in speech persuasive and convincing, and in associa- 
tion companionable, he was sought after in every party 
of which he was a member. He was one of the most like- 
able fellows I ever knew; his friends were legion, bound 
to him as with hoops of steel, forged in the caldron of 
love. 

He realized as much as any man I ever knew that " a 
soft answer turneth away wrath," and from his inexhaust- 
ible fountains of love he poured forth its healing and in- 
spiring properties upon all who had the good fortune to 
know him and were around and about him. The pre- 
dominant characteristics of the man were geniality and 
good nature, which he seemed to display at all times and 
under all circumstances. He always seemed to think 
more about the welfare of others than his own. He came 
from an ancestry schooled in diplomacy and statecraft, 
decorated with high honor for meritorious public serv- 
ices, so that by inheritance he was a diplomat and a 
leader. He knew how to employ these valuable instru- 
ments in the prosecution of his public service to good pur- 
pose, and never failed to take advantage of them when- 
ever the exigencies of the occasion required, whether en- 
gaged in the discharge of public or private duties. 

Because of the possession of these most valuable quali- 
ties of head and heart he was a tower of strength to every 
cause he espoused and a dangerous adversary to every- 
one he opposed. He could win the friendship of people, 
and, best of all, retain it. He analyzed questions from a 
public standpoint and not from any motive of selfish in- 
terest or sectional advantage. He was too broad and 
generous to be swayed from public welfare by any sordid 
purpose. 



M] 



Address of Mr. Cullop, of Indiana 



Death came to him at a time when his star in the public 
service was rising, when life promised a golden reward, 
when higher honors, a greater distinction, was waiting 
and bidding him onward and upward. His accomplished 
wife had just won envious social position by the able and 
efficient manner in which she had discharged her duties 
in originating and managing the part assigned her in the 
Dolly Madison breakfast, a social-political function of 
national significance. She richly deserved the compli- 
ments won in that celebrated affair, which he greatly 
appreciated. 

He had just returned the day before his death from the 
Louisiana Slate convention, where he had taken a leading 
part in a great political contest of national importance 
and had been victorious, winning for himself the highest 
compliments for his superb generalship and great diplo- 
macy. His nomination and election for a third term in 
the National Congress were assured. Life on that fatal 
morning was promising to him, and his cup of happiness 
was overflowing. High honors were at his disposal and 
promotion at his solicitation. But fate, cruel fate, decreed 
otherwise, and the fatal dart, with its unerring aim, struck 
the shining mark, dashed out his life, and ended his 
earthly career. 

We pause from the routine of daily duty to pay a last 
tribute to his memory, to say adieu, to impress on the 
world the value of his services, to enumerate his virtues 
and the worth of his lovable character, all of which are 
deeply enshrined in the hearts of his associates, to re- 
main as long as life shall be spared, as the noblest quali- 
ties of a kind heart and a generous soul. 



[39] 



Address of Mr. Collier, of Mississippi 

Mr. Speaker: It is indeed appropriate, when the busy 
scenes of strife and confusion which mark this Chamber 
during six days of the week shall have been succeeded by 
the peace and quietude of the Sabbath Day, that we 
should lay aside our business, our vexations, and our 
cares, suspend the daily struggles and inevitable conflicts 
incident to legislative activity, and pause to pay a tribute 
of love and affection to our departed colleagues. 

Since Congress convened on the first Monday in last 
December there has been scarcely a Sunday which has 
not been dedicated to this purpose. 

Death, with ruthless and impartial hand, is ever in our 
midst, watching and waiting at our side from dawn until 
dark, and its dread mysterious summons comes often 
unannounced and when we least expect. 

During the two years of the Sixty-second Congress, 18 
times has the flag which floats above this Chamber been 
placed at half-mast for those who pursued their labors 
here, while at the other end of the Capitol the Vice Presi- 
dent of the United States and six Senators have passed 
away. 

A long list of honored dead, a mortality roll unpar- 
alleled in the history of any deliberative body of equal 
size. 

With relentless determination Death has laid his 
clammy touch with equal force upon the young as upon 
the old. It has waited and watched at the side of old age 
and its grim stroke has descended upon him who, wise in 
counsel, rich in experience, and long in service, has left 



[40] 



Address of Mr. Collier, of Mississippi 

behind him a record of earnest deeds well done. To the 
young legislator with the best part of his life before him, 
his heart and his mind filled with dreams and hopes and 
aspirations for the future, this grim specter unannounced 
has reached forth an unseen hand and left behind only 
silence and pathetic dust. 

There were Mitchell and Kipp and Connell and Utter 
who left us in the early morning of their legislative 
careers. 

There were Foster of Vermont and Anderson of Ohio 
and Smith of California and Latta and Hubbard and 
Madison and Legare and McHenry who were called away 
in the very zenith of their usefulness. 

There was Wedemeyer, young, gifted, and brilliant, 
who now securely sleeps in the bosom of a Tropic sea, 
where the thunders of heaven's artillery salute his de- 
parted spirit and the soft murmur of southern breezes 
gently sing his last requiem. 

There were Malby and Gordon and Loudenslager and 
Bingham who, rich in experience and long in service, 
answered the death angel's call. 

There was him whose memory we mourn to-day. 
Handsome, debonair, manly, loyal, honest Bob Wickliffe, 
whose tragic death brought sorrow and sadness to all who 
knew him. 

Death is cruel, inexorable, and pitiless. It always 
brings sorrow and regret, but when ripe old age closes its 
eyes and falls asleep this sorrow and this regret is soft- 
ened by the reflection that three score years and ten is the 
brief allotment given us here on earth. 

When its crushing stroke descends upon childhood, 
though our hearts are torn with anguish and we are 
bowed with grief, yet we are comforted by the thought 
that life's trials and temptations, its sorrows and its re- 
grets, its vexations and its cares have been spared these 



[41] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 



little ones, and safely guarded from even the knowledge 
of evil they peacefully and calmly rest in the bosom of 
mother earth. But when this cruel and unwelcome stroke 
falls upon him who is in the zenith of his usefulness, in 
the early morning of his life, with the promise of a splen- 
did and useful manhood before him like young Wickliffe, 
we are troubled and we can not understand the taking off 
of such a man. He was playing his part so well. He was 
accomplishing so much that the history of his work and 
his short life was but an earnest and a promise of the 
moral and intellectual contribution he would give to the 
future. 

But though our hearts are troubled, yet in this hour of 
doubt and sorrow and vain regret " hope sees a star and 
listening love can hear the rustle of an angel's wing." 

Comforted and consoled with the promise of immor- 
tality, we know that " He doeth all things well," and Thy 
will, not ours, be done. 

Mr. Speaker, upon an occasion of this kind it is diffi- 
cult to express in words the thoughts which spring up in 
the heart at the tender recollections which recall to us 
the many virtues of a departed friend. I wish that I 
could put in words and phrases and sentences all that my 
heart dictates concerning my lamented friend. 

I wonder if ever a song was sung 

But the singer's heart sung sweeter; 

I wonder if ever a rhyme was rung 

But the thought surpassed the meter; 

I wonder if ever sculptor wrought 

Until the cold stone echoed his marble thought, 

Or if ever a painter with light and shade 

The dream of his inmost soul portrayed. 

Mr. Speaker, I never had the good fortune to meet Rob- 
ert Wickliffe until the beginning of the Sixty-first Con- 
gress. We both entered this body together, and I soon 

[42] 



Address of Mr. Collier, of Mississippi 

made his acquaintance. Living at the same hotel, com- 
ing from the same section of the country, representing 
practically the same interests, and of almost the same 
age, it was not long before a close, intimate, and sincere 
friendship sprang up between us. Our offices were situ- 
ated in a short distance of each other, on the same floor, 
and together we visited many of the places of interest in 
the National Capital. Our tastes were congenial, we 
thought alike upon many questions, and thus I had ample 
opportunity to become familiar with the sterling qualities 
of heart and mind which marked the life and character of 
our late colleague, Robert Wickliffe. 

He was one of the most genial, companionable, and in- 
teresting men I have ever had the good fortune to meet. 
As a Member of the House of Representatives he was 
earnest and diligent and faithful to every trust imposed 
upon him. He was constant in attendance and earnestly 
strove to master the minute details of legislation. He 
had implicit confidence in the wisdom of the people. He 
had an abiding faith in the permanence and stability of 
American institutions. The individual interest of his 
constituent was a personal interest to him. The great 
Mississippi River overflow of last year — which brought 
ruin and poverty and distress to thousands — was an occa- 
sion which served to show the force and ability of Rob 
Wickliffe. He represented part of the overflowed dis- 
trict and he was intensely interested. Those who suf- 
fered from the dire effects of that devastating flood will 
long have cause to remember the tireless energy and suc- 
cessful efforts of our lamented colleague. 

Those of us who knew Rob Wickliffe best will all bear 
witness to the sweetness of his disposition, the generosity 
of his soul, the kindness of his heart, and the purity of 
his character. He was a man of noble thoughts and lofty 
ideals. 



[43] 



Memorial Addresses : Representative Wickliffe 

It was my melancholy privilege to accompany his re- 
mains to Louisville, Ky., where before a great concourse 
of people we tenderly laid him to rest. 

It was a clear, cloudless day. We stood in that beauti- 
ful cemetery surrounded by magnificent shafts of marble 
as pure, as white, as spotless, and as unsullied as the life 
and character of him who under a wilderness of flowers 
lay before us. And there in the land of his birth, far from 
the scenes of his labors, we left all that was mortal of 
Robert C. Wickliffe. 

Kentucky gave him birth, Louisiana gave him honors, 
both mourn his untimely end, and Mississippi asks for the 
privilege of sharing their grief, of laying a sprig of acacia 
upon the grave of courteous, chivalrous, manly Bob 
Wickliffe. 



li 



Address of Mr. Pujo, of Louisiana 

Mr. Speaker : It is the melancholy duty of the member- 
ship of this House to meet from time to time in com- 
memorative services of the life and character of departed 
colleagues, and this practice is founded on the highest 
manifestations of religious obligations and of the devo- 
tion and affection for the memory of a friend and col- 
league. A decade's service in this House has convinced 
me that it is the great crucible where men are subjected 
to the acid test. 

Robert C. Wickliffe stood the test, because his charac- 
ter was of pure gold. I first met him 15 years ago, when 
he was serving the people of his State in the discharge of 
a great responsibility as a member of the constitutional 
convention of Louisiana; and that constitution became, 
by the act calling the convention into being, organic law 
without submission to the people. This was the confi- 
dence justly reposed in him when but little more than 
a boy. 

When he came to the House he made up his mind to 
be of value to his people, and he was punctual in his 
attendance and indefatigable and successful in his efforts 
in their behalf. 

I was the last member of the Louisiana delegation who 
conversed with him, and that was late in the afternoon of 
the day preceding that of his death. Next morning, at 
the city of New York, where I had gone in the discharge 
of duties assigned to me by the House, I was informed 
of his accidental, tragic, and untimely death. The news 
was a great shock to me. When I saw him the day before 
he evinced in his conversation the keenest interest in 
legislation and the political program of the future. 



[45] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

Our departed friend was a man of the highest sense of 
honor and enjoyed the benefit of a finished education. 
His love of home, wife, and child was the dominating in- 
fluence of his life. In his death his State and district lost 
a most efficient representative; his colleagues, a loyal 
friend and honorable companion; and his stricken widow 
and fatherless child, a husband and father whose love, 
fame, and honor will be the most precious jewel in the 
crown of their remembrance. 



[46] 



Address of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 

Mr. Speaker: The State of Louisiana has been the 
heaviest sufferer in the Republic in losing more Members 
of Congress during the past five years than any of its sister 
States. Five times in five years have we assembled in 
this room to offer tribute of respect to the memory of de- 
ceased members of the Louisiana delegation in Congress. 
First was Gen. Adolph Meyer; then Robert C. Davey; 
next came Samuel L. Gilmore; afterwards that old war 
horse of Democracy, Samuel D. McEnery; and now our 
lamented friend, Robert C. Wickliffe. All of these men 
were faithful to every interest of Louisiana; they served 
it to the best of their ability, and all of them were loved 
and honored in their native State. 

The last of this quintet to join the great congress whose 
sessions never close in the world beyond was " Our Rob " 
Wickliffe, who departed this life in a tragic manner only 
a few months ago. Truly, has there been a long roll of 
deaths in the Sixty-second Congress, as one of the 
speakers has remarked. Eighteen Members of the House 
and seven in the Senate — 25 deaths out of a total member- 
ship of 487 in both Houses of Congress. Louisiana feels 
very keenly the death losses in other States, for a fellow 
feeling makes us wondrous kind in this world, and we of 
Louisiana have suffered so heavily in this respect that 
we sympathize deeply with those who are chastened in 
like manner. 

Rob Wickliffe had in him the promise of a great future. 
His friends believed that within a very few years, if he 
desired it, he could become the governor of the State, just 
as his grandfather had been governor of Kentucky and his 

[47] 



Memorial Addresses : Representative Wickliffe 

father governor of Louisiana. He belonged to a family 
of illustrious public men who rendered great service to 
two Commonwealths, and he was a worthy descendant 
of such ancestors. There is no doubt that practically 
every political gift at the disposal of his people would 
have been tendered him had he lived the allotted period 
of man. 

During his very brief life Bob Wickliffe made a splen- 
did record — one of which his family, his friends, and his 
State have just cause to be proud. I first knew him in 
1898 as an active and influential member of the constitu- 
tional convention of Louisiana, though he was then less 
than 24 years of age. He was known as one of the two 
" boys " of that eminent assemblage, which framed a con- 
stitution for Louisiana that has existed for 15 years and 
under which the State has prospered as never before in 
its history; and though one of the youngest members in 
years, his parish had no cause to regret having selected 
him for such an honorable and important position. 

During his service of three and a half years in Congress 
Wickliffe advanced as rapidly as any man I have 
known, with one or two exceptions, since I entered this 
body 14 years ago. He was a very active Member of the 
Committee on Agriculture. The people of his district 
are engaged almost entirely in agriculture, and that is 
the most important industry in Louisiana, although in 
recent years the State has become a very large manufac- 
turer of lumber, second only to the State of Washington 
in that respect, and her vast mineral wealth is placing 
her well to the forefront in that regard. All of Louisi- 
ana, and especially Bob Wickliffe's district, suffered ter- 
ribly from the effects of the cotton-boll weevil. For over 
a century cotton had been king in many parishes of the 
State, and the weevil completely destroyed the industry 
and forced the people to engage in other pursuits. Great 

[48] 



Address of Mr. Ransdell, of Louisiana 

distress, uncertainty, and doubt resulted from this en- 
forced change, and Bob assisted in solving the many 
questions connected with it in a most earnest, intelligent 
manner. 

Another great problem of vital import to his people 
was the flood situation of the Mississippi River, which 
was brought to a climax last spring by the greatest over- 
flow on record. Many citizens of his own town and in 
several parishes of his district were overflowed and lost 
nearly everything they possessed. I shall never forget 
Bob's great solicitude for them and his splendid work in 
securing appropriation from Congress to aid in relieving 
their sufferings. Many parts of my district were under 
water, and I was a personal sufferer, because my planta- 
tion near Lake Providence was overflowed, causing me 
heavy loss. For weeks during that awful period Bob 
and I, together with every other member of the Louisiana 
delegation, worked shoulder to shoulder for the relief 
not only of Louisiana, but of the flood sufferers in the 
Mississippi Valley, and I learned lo appreciate and honor 
in him at that time qualities of head and heart of which 
I did not dream. No man in this body seemed to feel 
such acute sorrow at the flood devastation as Bob Wick- 
liffe, and certainly no one worked harder or more intelli- 
gently and successfully to aid the sufferers. 

Not many months before his death Wickliffe intro- 
duced a bill to provide for disposing of the machinery 
and appliances of every kind used in the construction of 
the Panama Canal. He thought that portions might be 
employed very successfully in preventing flood destruc- 
tion, and other parts could be used in improving rivers 
in different sections of the country. The bill was very 
comprehensive, and had it been enacted into law, which 
I believe he might have succeeded in securing had he 
lived, it would have resulted in the utilization or sale of 



[49] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

much valuable property of the Nation which is liable to 
be destroyed on the completion of the canal unless some 
such legislation is passed. So far as I know, Bob's ideas 
in regard to this were unique and original, and since his 
death they have been adopted and discussed by men high 
in the affairs of the Nation, one of whom is no other than 
ex-President Roosevelt. 

Mr. Speaker, in the death of Robert C. Wickliffe, not 
only has the State of Louisiana suffered a great, aye, an 
almost irreparable loss, but the Nation one of its most 
brilliant and efficient public servants. 



[50] 



Address of Mr. Watkins, of Louisiana. 

Mr. Speaker: There is always something mysterious 
about death, and our effort to penetrate the mysterious 
future bewilders the imagination. When peacefully and 
quietly the silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl is 
broken our hearts are saddened with the parting of the 
loved one with whom we have been associated; but when 
one meets death by violence the shock causes us to won- 
der what mysterious influence so rudely dashes a human 
life into eternity. 

On Tuesday morning, June 11, of last year, Robert C. 
Wickliffe, in the prime of life and at the zenith of his 
usefulness, was suddenly taken from this earthly sphere 
to his eternal home. On that morning, parting from his 
wife and only child, he strolled to the banks of the his- 
toric Potomac, and while standing on the embankment 
near the railroad track, a passenger train dashed upon 
him and, hurling him violently against a post, crushed 
and mangled his body. The inquiry has been raised as 
to whether this was purely an accident caused from 
carelessness or whether it was the result of recklessness 
on his part. The inquest held shows that an incoming 
northbound train attracted his attention while it was 
crossing the bridge, and, not observing the outgoing 
southbound train, he inadvertently stepped upon the 
track and was instantly killed. 

That his mind was absorbed in profound thought there 
can be no doubt, for the perturbance of his feelings could 
clearly be discerned, and his expressions of emotion indi- 
cated great mental distress. 

[51] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

He was most attentive to his official duties and had 
recently made a magnificent fight during the considera- 
tion of the Agriculture appropriation hill to have his peo- 
ple protected from the ravages of the boll weevil, the 
insect pest which has created such havoc, almost amount- 
ing to devastation, in the cotton section of his State. 

Laying aside his official duties temporarily, he had 
visited the State of Louisiana for the purpose of helping 
a friend, and on this journey ascertained the extent of 
the calamity which had befallen his people by virtue of 
the disastrous overflow which had overtaken them. Be- 
moaning their impoverished condition and the destitu- 
tion which confronted them on every side, he returned to 
Washington, his mind burdened with sorrow and his 
heart going out in sympathy for his people in their 
distress. 

Seeking a diversion as a relief, he strolled to the banks 
of the Potomac, and after lingering for awhile and ascer- 
taining that its waters were too murky to permit angling 
in them he meandered up the sloping bank to the place 
upon the railroad track where he met his violent death. 

Robert C. Wickliffe was the grandson of Robert C. 
Wickliffe, sr., who was governor of the State of Kentucky. 
After moving to Louisiana his father became her chief 
executive, and his page in history shows that he was a 
most worthy and competent official and endeared him- 
self to the people of his adopted State. Robert C. Wick- 
liffe, the son, was born in the State of Kentucky in May, 
1874. Receiving his primary education in the common 
schools of St. Francisville, La., he afterwards attended 
Center College, in the State of Kentucky, there graduating 
with the degree of bachelor of science. He afterwards at- 
tended the Tulane University, in Louisiana, where he 
graduated in law with distinction, being the orator of his 
class. 

[52] 



Address of Mr. Watkins, of Louisiana 



Returning home and engaging in the practice of law he 
so rapidly rose to prominence that he was elected to serve 
in the constitutional convention of that State in 1898. 
Although only 24 years of age he took a prominent part in 
that convention in framing the fundamental law and was 
especially active in procuring embedded in the constitu- 
tion a provision for a railroad commission, which has 
proved of inestimable benefit to the State of Louisiana. 

Subsequent to this he was chosen as the district attor- 
ney for the judicial district in which he lived and showed 
that same efficiency in this capacity as he had exhibited 
as a lawmaker in the constitutional convention. 

He was elected a Representative to the Sixty-first Con- 
gress and reelected to the Sixty-second. During his serv- 
ices in the House of Representatives he endeared him- 
self to the Members by his social disposition, his genial 
manners, his courteous deportment, and his manly quali- 
ties. He was independent in thought, true to his convic- 
tions, bold to assert them, but always readily yielding to 
the rule of the majority; when the fight was made and 
lost, he submitted gracefully and prepared himself for 
the future combat in which he might be called upon to 
engage. 

He was an orator of merit, a polished speaker, always 
ready with a word to express a thought, and never dis- 
concerted at an interruption or thrown off his guard by 
an effort to entrap him. He thoroughly prepared himself 
for the engagement which he was to enter, and with the 
material at hand held his own, however acrimonious the 
debate. 

Descended, as he was, from distinguished ancestors, his 
bearing was superb, while his nature was sympathetic 
and his manner genial and most agreeable. 

Mr. Wickliffe was twice married, each time to a cousin, 
both his wives being natives of the State of Kentucky. 

[53] 



Memorial Addresses : Representative Wickliffe 

His last marriage is blessed with a precious little daugh- 
ter, the only child who survives him. 

To this child and his heartbroken widow the sorrow of 
the Members of this House is poured forth in deepest 
sympathy. 

We laid him to rest in the beautiful Cave Hill Ceme- 
tery, at Louisville, Ky., in which sacred place the members 
of his family are interred. 

He was true to his friends, and a vast concourse of his 
sorrowing friends accompanied his remains to their final 
resting place. 

We loved him for his warmth of heart; we admired 
him for his manly traits; we applauded him for his suc- 
cessful career; and we mourn his death as a distinctive 
loss to his family, his friends, and his country. 



[54] 



Address of Mr. Estopinal, of Louisiana 

Mr. Speaker: We are engaged to-day in paying a lov- 
ing tribute in commemoration of the life and services of 
one of our young Members of Congress, yet one who has 
left his fine impress on the affairs of his State and upon 
the legislation of his country. When death invades our 
circle of official life and takes away him who has reached 
the apex of usefulness in the fullness of years and honors, 
we feel that we have lost a wise counselor and friend and 
useful public servant, yet we realize that in the mutations 
of things terrestrial it is something we must expect, and 
in regret we bow down in solemn resignation; but when 
the hand of death reaches out in tragic swiftness and 
takes from us the young man who is but on the threshold 
of a career which promises a brilliant climax, who is 
ascending with precision and confidence and hope the 
steps which lead to the pinnacle of honor and fame, we 
feel that we have been unduly bereft in his untimely 
end — we can not take consolation, as it were, for our loss 
in that resignation which the inevitable forces upon us. 
My first acquaintance with Robert C. Wigkliffe was in 
the constitutional convention of Louisiana in 1898. He 
was then a very young man; had hardly passed his ma- 
jority; but had already endeared himself to the people of 
his parish, not only by his rare personality, but also by 
the remarkable ability which he had given many proofs 
of, even at that early period of his life. While, on ac- 
count of the difference in our ages, perhaps, I was not 
thrown with him very much during our term of service 
in that body, I yet saw enough of him to readily under- 



[55] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

stand how the affections of his people and their recogni- 
tion of his superior talents should have put him so con- 
spicuously forward at such an early age. I seldom met 
Mr. Wickliffe during the 10 years which intervened be- 
tween our service together in the constitutional conven- 
tion and that which began again in this body, but I knew 
that he was forging ahead to front rank in his chosen 
profession of law and had been honored by the people 
among whom he lived. He had gained such prestige and 
so widened his circle of friends and admirers that when 
he announced himself as a candidate for Congress he was 
triumphantly elected. 

But during his service in Congress I became intimately 
associated with him in the discharge of those duties which 
we had in common as Representatives of the people of 
the State of Louisiana. He was always attentive to his 
duties as a Member of this House, giving every subject of 
legislation thorough study and the closest consideration. 
His knowledge of matters and the quick grasp of his in- 
tellect made the understanding of all questions surpris- 
ingly rapid and accurate. Had he lived, he would soon 
have risen to leadership in this body, possessing, as he 
did, all the qualities of heart and mind that go to make 
up a great man. Many men possess the qualities in single 
that were in him combined — a vivid imagination, quick 
intellectual perception, and that patience and industry 
which reaches to the minutest detail. But these are sel- 
dom found so completely joined in one man as they were 
in this promising young Louisiana statesman. 

The charm of his personality, the kindness and geniality 
of his manner and ways were irresistible, and he made 
friends of all with whom he came in contact. Notwith- 
standing the disparity in our ages, we became close and 
intimate friends. In my whole life I have met very few 



[56] 



Address of Mr. Estopinal, of Louisiana 



for whom I have felt that feeling of deep affection and 
close fellowship that I did for Bob Wickliffe. 

Death is the crown of life; 
Were death denied, poor man would live in vain; 
Death wounds to cure; we fall, we rise, we reign; 
Spring from our fetters, fasten to the skies, 
Where blooming Eden withers from our sight. 
This king of terrors is the Prince of Peace. 



[57] 



Address of Mr. Dupre, of Louisiana 

Mr. Speaker — 

Oh, weep for Adonais! He is dead. 
Weep tho' the tears thaw not the frost 
That binds so dear a head. 

But that I loved Bob Wickliffe well and could not 
forego this opportunity to put on lasting record my deep 
admiration of him as a man and my lofty appreciation 
of his public services, I would not rise to-day. 

Since that fateful June day when at Atlanta, on my way 
home, I learned that he was dead he has been daily in 
my thoughts. In the ensuing intervals that I have spent 
in Washington his death, yea, his life, have near haunted 
me. This Chamber, this Capitol, the daily walk to and 
from it, the usual routine of work, the social diversions 
of this city, all bring back a thousand memories of him. 
They recall a boyish friendship that was never clouded, 
a close congressional intimacy that was rudely sundered; 
a loving, inspiring helpmeet, who, womanlike, coura- 
geously faces her widowhood; and a golden-haired baby 
girl who does not yet know that she is orphaned; and ever 
as these memories come and go and shape and merge and 
blur themselves into each other, through them all is the 
yawning grave in Kentucky, the home of his fathers. Is 
it small wonder, then, if I find it hard in mind and heart 
and strength to say aught to-day? 

I first remember Bob Wickliffe when, fresh from col- 
legiate honors won at Center College, Kentucky, he en- 
tered the law department of the Tulane University, of 
Louisiana, from which institution he was graduated as 



[58] 



Address of Mr. Dupre, of Louisiana 



valedictorian of his class. I witnessed at close range his 
work as a member of the constitutional convention held 
in our State in 1898. Although then barely 24 years of 
age, he took high rank in that body, rendering especially 
notable service in incorporating into the organic law of 
our State the provision for a railroad commission. 

I recall him, in all his youthful ardor and patriotism, 
responding to the call to arms and enlisting, with charac- 
teristic modesty, as a private in Company E, First Louisi- 
ana Volunteer Infantry, Spanish-American War. I saw 
him receive further honors at the hands of his people, 
when, in 1900, he was elected district attorney for the 
twenty-fourth judicial district, discharging his duties with 
fearlessness and yet never degenerating into the vengeful 
persecutor. I followed with interest the remarkable cam- 
paign he waged in a Democratic primary for nomination 
to Congress, defeating two of the most popular and tal- 
ented men of his district. 

Mr. Wickliffe entered upon his congressional duties 
with the beginning of the Sixty-first Congress, and in its 
third session I joined him as a Member of this body. I 
soon discovered that in his short service he had already 
made a place for himself. As a member of the then 
minority he had received but inconspicuous committee 
assignments, but in the stirring days that had marked the 
beginning of the extra session of that Congress he had 
proven his mettle, had refused to stray after false gods, 
and had loyally followed the leadership of those who 
were soon to transform the minority into a majority. So 
when I met him here he had already come to enjoy the 
respect and confidence of his Democratic brethren, as in- 
deed of the entire membership of the House. He early 
attracted the interest of the distinguished Speaker of this 
House, and it is a strange coincidence, though entirely 
typical of the man, that his last public appearance was an 



[59] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 



act of loyalty to the Speaker — a successful effort on Mr. 
Wickliffe's part to send to the Baltimore convention a 
majority of the Louisiana delegation favorable to the 
laudable ambition of that great son of Missouri. 

Naturally, then, when the Democrats came into power 
in the Sixty-second Congress Mr. Wickliffe received high 
honor at the party's hands, being assigned, in addition to 
membership on the Committee on Elections, to the very 
important post of member of the Committee on Agricul- 
ture. He himself had been brought up on a farm and 
represented a district essentially rural, and was therefore 
admirably fitted, both by training and sympathy, for this 
committee work. He was the first man in public life, to 
my knowledge, to suggest in Congress the creation in the 
Department of Agriculture of a bureau of markets, a plan 
now on the verge of consummation, and the admirable 
speech which he delivered on this subject, which he aptly 
called " The high cost of selling," may well serve others 
who have followed in his wake. His manly and forceful 
address against free sugar showed his wide familiarity 
with economic questions and his particular knowledge of 
the conditions of the people he represented. 

His own plantation home bordered on the great Missis- 
sippi River, and from his childhood he had been familiar 
with the terrible devastations that from time to time it 
works upon our people, and in the awful disaster of last 
spring, when the waters of 39 States poured over our fer- 
tile acres, bringing with them ruin and desolation, no 
man in the Mississippi Valley was more active than he in 
securing relief for the suffering and in convincing this 
Congress of its duty to give larger financial aid to the 
work of levee building. While on a visit to the Isthmus 
he conceived the idea of utilizing the machinery and ap- 
paratus employed in the construction of the Panama 
Canal for the protection and improvement of the banks 

[60] 



Address of Mr. Dupre, of Louisiana 



of the Mississippi, a plan which he embodied in a prac- 
tical manner in a bill introduced by him for that purpose. 
It is significant that others have since taken up this 
thought, a former President of the United States having 
championed it in a number of public addresses. How 
gladly would he have lived to welcome the day when the 
General Government will realize its full obligation to the 
mighty river and its citizens who live behind its banks. 

In all the relations of life Bob Wickliffe played the 
man's part. Had he done otherwise he would have been 
untrue to the traditions of a distinguished ancestry and 
disloyal to the spirit of " noblesse oblige " which charac- 
terizes his cast, for he was to the manner born. His 
lineage was of the gentlest. His father, whose name he 
bore, was governor of Louisiana before the war and one 
of its most honored citizens for many years thereafter. 
One of his grandfathers was governor of Kentucky and 
another United States Senator from that State and Post- 
master General in the Cabinet of President Tyler. His 
aptitude for public life came naturally to him, therefore, 
and he was deeply imbued with the idea that men of his 
rearing and stamp should unselfishly devote their time 
and talents to the public service. With it all he was 
democratic to the core. His heart beat true to the quick- 
ened impulse of humanity and fraternity that is leaven- 
ing all parties in the politics of twentieth-century 
America. 

His domestic life was ideal. He himself was a man of 
singular personal purity, and his wife and child were all 
in all to him. He was passionately attached to his home. 
Indeed, one of the great sorrows that came into his life, 
bearing down upon him with a weight that was almost 
unnatural, was the destruction by fire some years ago of 
his ancestral home, "Wyoming," in the parish of West 
Feliciana. 



[61] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wickliffe 

Bob Wickliffe was but 38 years of age when he died, 
and death came to him without a warning. Those who 
had " lov'd him so, follow'd him, honor'd him," are still 
unreconciled to his early and sudden passing. But, after 
all, he had not lived in vain. His life, while incomplete, 
was full of aspiration and endeavor and achievement; 
and I, while bemoaning the prematurity and cruel swift- 
ness of his taking off, can not quite subscribe to their 
views, for I am inclined to believe that Robert Louis 
Stevenson wrote truly in his undying essay on death. Is 
not the thought solacing that underlies these lines? 
Listen: 

It is not only in finished undertakings that we ought to honor 
useful labor. A spirit goes out of the man who means execution 
which outlives the most untimely ending. All who have meant 
good work with their whole hearts have done good work, although 
they may die before they have the time to sign it. Every heart 
that has beat strong and cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse be- 
hind it in the world and bettered the tradition of mankind. And 
even if death catch people, like an open pitfall, and in midcareer, 
laying out vast projects and planning monstrous foundations, 
flushed with hope, and their mouths full of boastful language, 
they should be at once tripped up and silenced, is there not 
something brave and spirited in such a termination, and does not 
life go down with a better grace, foaming in full body over a 
precipice, than miserably straggling to an end in sandy deltas*? 
When the Greeks made their fine saying that those whom the gods 
love die young, I can not help believing that they had this sort of 
death also in their eye. For surely, at whatever age it overtake 
the man, that is to die young. Death has not been suffered to 
take so much as an illusion from his heart. In the hot fit of life, 
a-tiptoe on the highest point of being, he passes at a bound on 
to the other side. The noise of the mallet and chisel is scarcely 
quenched, the trumpets are hardly done blowing, when, trailing 
with him clouds of glory, this happy-starred, full-blooded spirit 
shoots into the spiritual land. 



[62] 



Address of Mr. Broussard, of Louisiana 

Mr. Speaker: Scarcely anything can be added to the 
truths that have been already uttered on this floor to-day 
in eulogy of the life and character of Robert C. Wickliffe. 
Departing from this Chamber at an age when the average 
useful Member commences his career, with a service of 
scarcely three years, he has left behind a memory which 
is testified to to-day by many of those who had the pleas- 
ure of knowing him and were acquainted with the charms 
of his character. 

I first knew Bob Wickliffe when he was prosecuting 
attorney in his home judicial district, and I was perform- 
ing the same public duties in mine. Being engaged in a 
work of kindred nature, we were naturally attracted to 
each other and formed a friendship from the first day of 
our meeting, some 17 years ago, which lasted until his 
death. 

After having served in that capacity, when, under the 
leadership of the then governor of Louisiana, the present 
Senator Foster, it was sought to amend our State consti- 
tution in such wise as to permit the races of that State 
to live side by side in harmony, young as he was, Bob 
Wickliffe was intrusted by his people to represent them 
in the State constitutional convention of 1898. 

The work of that convention having been practically 
accomplished, before the adjournment of it war was de- 
clared by Congress against the Government of Spain. 
Bob Wickliffe had filled functions of public usefulness 
in the State, was popular in his section, was descended 
from men who, throughout the history of the Republic, 
had been prominent in peace as well as in war in two of 



[63] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Wigkliffe 

our great Commonwealths, and it is scarcely to be doubted 
but that he could easily have secured a commission to 
serve his country as an officer in the Spanish-American 
War. But, relying upon his native American ability, that 
self-reliance which formed so marked a trait of his char- 
acter, upon the qualities that had made his ancestors 
great in two great States of this Union, he resigned his 
seat in the constitutional convention to enlist in the First 
Louisiana Regiment of Volunteers as a simple private. 
He relied upon the consciousness of his own ability, his 
honesty, his energy, and his integrity to advance him 
rather than seek honors conferred by those who held 
power or to secure a commission to serve as an officer in 
that war. 

Fortunately for this country and for humanity, the war 
was brief and gave Wickliffe no opportunity to attain 
that distinction for which patriotism had prompted him 
to forego the pursuit of civil honors in order to undergo 
the hardships of military life in the rank of the privates 
in an army of volunteers. Returning home, he became 
a candidate for Congress and was elected; and laboring 
here throughout the brief time of his service he left an 
impression upon this House which was never equaled by 
anyone in so short a term of service, which will never be 
forgotten by those who knew him in the House. 

His sudden death was as untimely as it was deplorable. 
Well do we recall that morning when the news first 
reached this Capitol of his untimely taking off. A gloom 
hung about this Chamber and sorrow was depicted in 
every face. This gloom and sorrow found an echo in 
two great States. Innumerable friends and kinsmen in 
Kentucky and innumerable friends and kinsmen in Loui- 
siana heard the terrible news with horror and dismay. 

And while his death has been a loss to his friends, and 
to his family in particular, a greater loss falls upon the 

[64] 



Address of Mr. Broussard, of Louisiana 

State of Louisiana, wherein he and his ancestors had 
done great service for the public weal, and upon this 
Republic, where he and his ancestors have done great 
work for the American people. 

As he was loved in life, so is he mourned in death. 

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that those who 
have delivered addresses and eulogies upon the life and 
character of Robert C. Wickliffe may have five legis- 
lative days in which to extend and amend their remarks. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. 
Broussard] asks unanimous consent that those who have 
spoken on the life and character of Robert C. Wickliffe 
may have five legislative days in which to extend and 
revise their remarks. Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 

Mr. Finley resumed the chair as Speaker pro tempore. 

adjournment 

The Speaker pro tempore. In accordance with the reso- 
lution previously adopted, the Chair declares the House 
adjourned until 10.30 o'clock to-morrow morning. 

Accordingly (at 8 o'clock and 28 minutes p. m.) the 
House adjourned until to-morrow, Monday, February 24, 
1913, at 10.30 o'clock a. m. 



[65] 



Proceedings in the Senate 

Tuesday, June 11, 1912. 
The Chaplain, Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce, D. D., offered 
the following prayer: 

O Lord, our heavenly Father, who didst send Thy Son 
into the world, not to condemn the world but that the 
world might be saved, save us, we humbly pray Thee, 
from all doubt of Thy goodness and from all questioning 
of Thy providence. As Thou hast called another Mem- 
ber of this Congress from the labors of earth, deepen, 
we pray Thee, our trust in Thee and grant that while we 
have the light we may walk in the light, knowing that 
the night cometh when no man can work. 

And unto Thee, with whom is no darkness at all, neither 
shadow that is cast by turning, be glory and praise now 
and forevermore. Amen. 

The Secretary proceeded to read the Journal of yester- 
day's proceedings, when, on request of Mr. Gallinger and 
by unanimous consent, the further reading was dispensed 
with and the Journal was approved. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by J. C. 
South, its Chief Clerk, communicated to the Senate the 
intelligence of the death of the Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe, 
late a Representative from the State of Louisiana, and 
transmitted resolutions of the House thereon. 

The Vice President. The Chair lays before the Senate 
the resolutions from the House of Representatives, which 
will be read. 



[67] 



Memorial Addresses : Representative Wickliffe 



The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

In the House of Representatives, 

June 11, 1912. 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe, a Representative from the 
State of Louisiana. 

Resolved, That a committee of fifteen Members of the House, 
with such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed 
to attend the funeral. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized 
and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying 
out the provisions of these resolutions, and that the necessary ex- 
pense in connection therewith be paid out of the contingent fund 
of the House. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect, this House do now 
adjourn. 

Mr. Foster. Mr. President, I offer the resolutions which 
I send to the desk and ask unanimous consent for their 
present consideration. 

The resolutions were read, considered by unanimous 
consent, and unanimously agreed to, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the 
announcement of the death of Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe, late a 
Representative from the State of Louisiana. 

Resolved, That a committee of eight Senators be appointed by 
the Vice President to join a committee appointed on the part of 
the House of Representatives to take order for superintending 
the funeral of the deceased. 

Resolved. That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to 
the House of Representatives and transmit a copy thereof to the 
family of the deceased. 

The Vice President appointed under the second reso- 
lution as the committee on the part of the Senate Mr. 
Foster, Mr. Thornton, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. 



[68] 



Proceedings in the Senate 



Smith of Michigan, Mr. Percy, Mr. Townsend, and Mr. 
Paynter. 

Mr. Foster. Mr. President, as a further mark of respect 
to the memory of the deceased Representative, I move 
that the Senate adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 5 
o'clock and 22 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
to-morrow, Wednesday, June 12, 1912, at 12 o'clock m. 

Monday, February 24, 1913. 
A message from the House of Representatives, by J. C. 
South, its Chief Clerk, transmitted to the Senate resolu- 
tions of the House of Representatives on the life and 
public services of Hon. Robert C. Wickliffe, late a Rep- 
resentative from the State of Louisiana. 

o 



[69] 



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